This morning in Milan the Minister of the Interior Luciana Lamorgese, Senator Liliana Segre and the Chief of Police - Director General of Public Security Lamberto Giannini participated in the meeting dedicated to the fight against hate crimes and the prevention of all forms of discrimination organized by the Observatory for Security Against Discriminatory Acts (OSCAD) of the Department of Public Security. After the meetings held in Rome, Turin, Palermo and the Republic of San Marino, today it was the turn of Milan which, in the Nissim auditorium of the Memorial Foundation of the Shoah in Milan, hosted the conference on “Victims of hatred”.
Once again a meeting to testify the daily commitment of all institutions, and in particular of the police forces, in ensuring to every citizen the respect and protection of human rights, in particular the rights of the most vulnerable people, rights that are often trampled by discrimination and hatred.
The initiative, strongly desired by the Department of Public Security through the President of OSCAD Prefect Vittorio Rizzi, was moderated by Dr. Elisabetta Mancini, Chief Executive of the State Police, and by the Corriere della Sera journalist Giusi Fasano.
After the welcome greetings from the President of the Memorial of the Shoah Roberto Jarach, and the Prefect of Milan Renato Saccone, many guests took the stage to give their testimony: Senator Liliana Segre with a touching testimony as a Holocaust survivor, the President of the UCEI Union of Italian Jewish Communities Noemi Di Segni, the National Coordinator for the fight against anti-Semitism Milena Santerini.
The event was also a moment of reflection on other forms of discrimination: the Italian Ambassador to the Netherlands Giorgio Novello told, through a video message, his personal experience as a victim of discrimination due to his disability and the Head of Cabinet of the Police Headquarters from Lecce, Sandra Meo, told the story of Gaetano Fuso, a policeman suffering from ALS who died in 2021, promoter of the I can project for access to the sea for people with disabilities in Salento.
A panel was also dedicated to the issue of homotransphobia and bullying with the intervention of the Minister Plenipotentiary Fabrizio Petri (President of CIDU), special envoy for the human rights of LGBTQ + people.
The issue of the operational approach of the police forces was addressed by Deputy Commissioner Francesca Capaldo, Director of the OSCAD Secretariat and by Colonel Michele Miulli, commander of the Operational Department of the Provincial Command of the Carabinieri of Milan.
At the end of the morning, the Chief of Police, Director General of Public Security Lamberto Giannini and the Minister of the Interior Luciana Lamorgese, greeted the students and the authorities present, recalling the importance of collaboration between the institutions and civil society in the fight against discrimination. Prefect Giannini in particular recalled how in moments of crisis the search for an "enemy" on which to unload hatred increases. This way of thinking must be contrasted both with the action of the judiciary and the police forces, but also through school, culture and awareness of the many lies that are spread.
Minister Lamorgese underlined how the Observatory is hinged in a structure of the Department of Public Security and allows not only monitoring but also the connection with the police structures that compose it. Discrimination is on the rise and it is often viewed with indifference by the authors themselves, thanks also to the filtering of the use of the web. By being close to the victims, listening to them and reassuring them, the institutions can facilitate complaints and thus bring out the phenomenon that would otherwise remain submerged.